Combining a marker with contextual information to deliver domain-specific content

ABSTRACT

A system and method provides content to a mobile device in response to a marker received from the device and an associated context. A mobile device user initiates delivery of content or another action by entering the marker into the mobile device. The mobile device transmits the marker to a mobile network support system having a context server for supplying a context for the marker. The support system forms a message including the marker and context, and sends it to a content server. The content server uses the context to map the marker to a domain, retrieves from a content database the content identified by the marker and domain, and sends the content to the mobile network support system or performs another action with the content. The mobile network support system then transmits the content back to the mobile device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.10/800,050, filed Mar. 11, 2004, which is a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 09/833,207, filed Apr. 10, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.6,738,630, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to wireless technology, andparticularly to providing information to wireless mobile devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the rapid expansion of wireless technology, many hand-held mobiledevices are now capable of various applications, such as performingstock trades, sending/receiving text messages, etc. As wirelesstechnology becomes more pervasive, it opens up new windows for companiesand content providers to deliver personalized and localized informationto mobile device holders. For example, a mobile device holder on themove may need information such as local weather, local maps, and/ordirections to local hotels and restaurants, and it is desirable todeliver this information directly to the mobile device.

Companies and content providers do not usually know what information amobile device holder may desire at a particular time and location. Somecompanies and content providers have designed applications to pushinformation to mobile devices based on the assumption that at least someof the device holders are at locations where the information is useful.However, as usually happens, a large percentage of this information isnot useful to the vast majority of mobile device users. This unwantedinformation can flood the mobile devices and consume bandwidth, memory,and battery power.

For these reasons, it is more efficient for a mobile device user toinitiate the delivery of desired information, for example, by enteringthe universal resource locater (“URL”) of a website holding the desiredinformation. On the other hand, a mobile device user may be limited bythe capabilities of the mobile device. For example, a cell phone has asmall screen and no convenient way to input long text strings. The userof the cell phone may find it easier to dial “411” than to input namesor addresses via multiple button presses in order to make use of awireless directory look-up service. Also, much like the current concernswith people driving and using a cell phone, there are safety issuesrelated to people in automobiles trying to obtain content on theInternet by entering long strings of URLs. Moreover, a URL is often noteasy to memorize. Therefore, a user may have to go through lengthysearches on the Internet to find a desired website. These searchesconsume time and battery power, and are not practical when the user isdriving a vehicle.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and system forproviding desired content to a mobile device holder without theaforementioned disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention meets the above need by assigning a shortidentifier, called a “marker,” to an entity about which the mobiledevice user is interested in obtaining information. In one embodiment ofthe present invention, every marker is associated with a particulardomain, such as a geographic area. Markers can be re-used in differentdomains.

In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a mobile networksupport system and a content server. The mobile device user initiatesthe delivery of the desired content or another action by entering themarker into a mobile device. The mobile device transmits the marker tothe mobile network support system. Preferably, a context server withinthe mobile network support system determines a context for the marker,such as the geographic location of the mobile device. The context servercan determine the context by querying the user of the mobile device.Then, the mobile network support system sends a message including themarker and the context to the content server.

The content server is in communication with a content database, whichstores content associated with markers for specified domains. A domainmapping module within the content server uses the context information toexplicitly and/or implicitly map the marker to a domain. The contentserver retrieves the content referenced by the given marker and domainfrom the content database and sends it to the mobile network supportsystem, which then transmits the content to the mobile device.Alternatively, the content server uses the content to contact the entityassociated with the marker on behalf of the mobile device user orperforms some other action.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing content toa mobile device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram of a computer system for use as acontent server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary situation in which amobile device user uses an embodiment of the present invention to obtaindesired content.

FIG. 4 is a ladder diagram illustrating a process for providing contentcorresponding to a marker having a context, according to an embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system 100 for providingcontent to a mobile device 130, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The system 100 includes a content server 1 10 coupledto a network 101, such as the Internet, a mobile network support system120 in communication with the network 101, and the mobile device 130.The system 100 makes use of a display 140 for informing a user of themobile device 130 of a marker 141.

The marker 141 is a number, a text string, a pictogram, or any othersymbol or series of symbols that the mobile device user can enter intohis or her mobile device 130 to request content. Preferably, the marker141 is a short number, such as “42,” that is easy to read, remember, andenter into the mobile device 130. The marker 141 may also be a word,such as “food,” “traffic,” or a business name, a short phrase, and/or aparticular color or sound.

In general, the marker 141 is associated with an entity such as arestaurant, hotel, theater, store, corporation, school, or road sign. Inaddition, a marker 141 may be associated with more general concepts,such as weather, traffic conditions, Mexican food, etc. Preferably, themobile device user uses the marker 141 to obtain information about theentity or concept associated with the marker. Typically, thisinformation is in the form of content, such as restaurant menus, theatershow times, or traffic conditions.

However, there may be instances where the mobile user uses the marker141 to obtain a service or cause an event to occur that does notdirectly provide additional information to the user. For example, theuser may use the marker 141 to cause content to be mailed,electronically or otherwise, to an address associated with the user. Inanother example, the user may use the marker 141 to establish aconnection with an entity such as a reservation service so that the usercan provide and/or obtain additional information. Regardless, thisdescription refers to the mobile user as using the marker 141 to obtain“content.” It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat “content” includes all possible benefits that may accrue to themobile user through the use of the marker 141.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the marker 141 isvalid in view of one or more particular types of domains. Possible typesof domains for a marker include geographic areas, times, dates, and/orevents. A domain can be contiguous or discontiguous. In a preferredembodiment of the present invention, the domain is one or moregeographical areas. Examples of geographical areas that may be definedas domains include particular counties, cities, towns, districts, schoolcampuses, shopping centers, buildings, and geographic areas surroundingthe marker 141 or some other location, such as the areas aroundparticular roads or highways, paths formed by bus routes, and cellulartelephone base stations. A given domain can have multiple markers 141that are valid for that domain. Since a meaning for a particular marker141 is valid for only a particular domain, a marker 141 can be reusedand have a different meaning in other domains.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the marker 141 isillustrated on a display 140, such as a billboard or other physicalobject having a fixed location and/or known to reside in a prescribedlocation or volumetric region. For example, the display 140 canillustrate the marker 141 as part of an advertisement and/or togetherwith other characteristics of the entity with which the marker 141 isassigned, such as a sign at a store, restaurant, motel, theater, school,etc. The display 140 can also be a mobile object that either movesthrough a known domain or otherwise makes apparent a domain for themarker 141. For example, a bus might display the message “Enter ‘42' fortraffic information.” Since the route of the bus is known, the domain ofthe marker 141 is also known. In another example, a matchbook orphonebook, displays the message “When in San Jose, enter marker ‘42’ forlocal weather information.” In this latter example, the domain for whichthe marker 141 is valid is explicitly specified; the marker may haveanother meaning outside of San Jose.

Alternatively, the display 140 can be anything else through which themobile user learns about the marker 141. For example, the display 140can be orally or visually communicated via a radio or television. Forexample, a radio advertisement might say “Enter ‘42’ for locations oftheatres near you showing ‘Star Wars: Episode Two’ starting within thenext two hours.” The display 140 may also be a personal computer or anyother device through which the mobile device user learns about themarker 141.

The mobile device 130, to which the mobile device user preferably hasdirect access, is preferably a wireless device that can accept inputfrom and provide output to the mobile device user in various forms. Forexample, the mobile device 130 can accept input as keypad presses,spoken words or phrases, and/or direct electronic data input. Likewise,the mobile device 130 can provide output as text messages, icons orother pictograms, video, and/or audio. Examples of mobile devicesinclude cellular telephones, satellite telephones, Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs), pagers, portable computers, and in-vehiclecommunications systems such as the Onstar system available from GeneralMotors Corporation. Preferably, the mobile device 130 supports theWireless Application Protocol (WAP), however, it should be understoodthat the present invention works with wireless and/or wired devices thatsupport WAP or other protocols. For example, the mobile device 130 maysupport standard telephony protocols, such as dual-tone multi-frequency(“DTMF,” or “touch-tone”) instead of or in addition to other protocolssuch as WAP. The terms “mobile device” and “wireless device,” as usedherein, are also intended to include devices that are in fact not mobileand/or wireless.

The mobile device 130 communicates via wireless and/or wiredtechnologies with a base station 122 in a mobile network support system120. The base station 122 is typically either ground-based orsatellite-based depending upon the type of communication utilized by themobile device 130. For example, if the mobile device 130 is a cellularphone, the base station 122 preferably includes a cellular base antennaand associated hardware and software for engaging in two-waycommunications with the cellular phone. If the mobile device 130 is asatellite-based telephone, the base station 122 preferably includes thehardware and software for supporting satellite uplink and downlinkcapabilities. Alternatively, if the mobile device 130 is a laptop havinga network connection, the base station 122 may be simply an Internetserver maintained by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or other entity.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the base station 122communicates with multiple mobile devices simultaneously through radiolinks using an established protocol, such as WAP or the i-Mode protocolfrom NTT DoCoMo. WAP is a standard for providing cellular phones, pagersand other handheld devices with secure access to e-mail and text-basedWeb pages. WAP provides an environment for wireless applicationsincluding a wireless counterpart of the Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and a framework for telephonyintegration such as call control and phone book access. WAP supports theWireless Markup Language (WML), which is a tag-based language allowingstandard EXtensible Markup Language (XML) and Hypertext Markup Language(HTML) tools to be used to develop WAP applications. WAP also usesWMLScript, a compact JavaScript-like language that runs in limitedmemory. In addition, WAP supports handheld input methods such as akeypad and voice recognition, and requires only a minimum functionalityin the mobile device. i-Mode is a packet-based information service formobile phones. i-Mode provides Web browsing, e-mail, calendar, chat,games and customized news. i-Mode uses a proprietary display languagecalled cHTML.

The mobile network support system 120 also preferably includes a contextserver 126 for providing contextual information for markers 141 inmessages received from mobile devices 130. In general, the contextserver 126 receives information from the base station 122 and/or themobile device 130 and determines the context associated with the marker141 sent by the device. As mentioned above, in a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention the context is the geographic location of themobile device 130. In one embodiment, the context server 126 determinesthis location from the base station 122 or network that received thesignal from the mobile device 130.

The context information may include data such as a heading, velocity,and altitude for the mobile device 130. To provide this more detailedcontext information, the context server 126 or base station 126 mayutilize technologies including overlay triangulation based on timing orangle of signal transmission and reception at the mobile device 130and/or base station 122. Such triangulation typically uses EnhancedObserved Time Difference (E-OTD) and Time of Arrival (TOA) information.Alternatively, global positioning system (GPS) technology may beincluded in the mobile device 130. In this latter case, an embodiment ofthe present invention may lack or otherwise not use the functionality ofthe context server 126 because the context information is receiveddirectly from the mobile device 130.

Depending upon the technique used to determine the location information,it can be in the form of latitude, longitude, and/or altitude, or in theform of physical coordinates relative to the base station 122 or someother point of origin, or in any other format. In one embodiment, thecontext server 126 also provides information indicating a degree orconfidence in the established location of the mobile device. In otherembodiments, the context server 126 supplies other information relatedto the given context. For example, if the context is the time of day,then the context server 126 supplies the time that the marker wasreceived from (or sent by) the mobile device 130. In addition, thecontext server 126 may supply multiple contexts for a single marker,such as the location of the mobile device 130 and the time that themarker was received by the base station 122.

In one embodiment, the context server 126 determines the context byquerying the user of the mobile device 130. In order to determinecontext, the context server 126 can send the mobile device a visual(e.g., textual) and/or audible query for context information. The querycan be static and/or dynamic. The user responds to the query byproviding input such as key presses, spoken words and phrases, etc.

In one embodiment, the context server 126 determines a set of possibledomains for the received marker, and then queries the mobile device 130(and user of the device) for context information that identifies aparticular domain. For example, if the marker is “42,” the contextserver 126 recognizes that that marker has validity in the cities of SanJose and San Francisco. Therefore, the context server 126 sends themobile device 130 a dynamically-generated visual and/or audible promptsaying “Press ‘1’ if you are in San Jose. Press ‘2’ if you are in SanFrancisco.” In another embodiment, the context server 126 sends themobile device 130 a static prompt asking the user to select from amongall possible domains for the markers.

In one embodiment, the context server 126 need not identify the possibledomains for the marker. Instead, the context server 126 provides themobile device 130 with an open-ended prompt asking the user to identifythe domain. In an embodiment where the user responds to the query withan utterance, such as a spoken word or phrase, or keypress, oneembodiment of the context server 126 asks the user to say or spell(using a keypad on the mobile device) the name of the domain (e.g., “Sayor spell the name of the city where you are located”). The contextserver 126 uses voice-recognition techniques to match a spoken responsewith one of the potential domains.

Although the examples above have assumed that the context server 126issues the query after receiving the marker, this need not be the case.In some embodiments, the context server 126 queries the user to providea domain before the user has provided a marker. For example, the contextserver 126 can issue a query saying “Please say your location.” Afterreceiving the name of a location from the user in response to the query,the context server 126 (or another entity in the mobile network supportsystem 120) queries the user for the marker by issuing a prompt such as“Please say the marker.”

The mobile network support system 120 further includes a gateway 124coupled between the base station 122 and the network 101. The gateway124 is preferably a computer system for performing protocol conversionbetween different types of networks and/or applications. For example,the gateway 124 preferably converts messages among TCP/IP, WAP, i-Mode,and/or standard telephony protocols. In a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the gateway 124 forms a message containing both themarker 141 and the context information. The gateway 124 then convertsthe message into a TCP/IP message, such as a Uniform Resource Locator(URL), and passes this message to the network 101 using an establishedprotocol such as the hypertext transport protocol (HTTP). Alternatively,in the embodiment where the gateway 124 communicates with the contentserver 110 via a standard telephone network, the gateway converts themessage into a format designed for communicating the marker 141 andcontextual information via the telephone network.

The gateway 124 also preferably converts content received from thenetwork 101 into a wireless communication format such as WML or cHTML,and passes the content to the base station 122 for transmission to themobile device 130. The gateway 124 may also compress content sent to themobile device 130 and/or expand messages received from the mobile device130 to account for the limited bandwidth of radio links. In oneembodiment, the functionality of the gateway 124 is incorporated intothe context server 126 or another device.

The network 101 transfers information between the gateway 124 and acontent server 110. The network 101 can utilize any known networkingtechnology, including technologies designed to carry voice and/or data.In addition, the network 101 may utilize paths over a public networksuch as the Internet, consist of dedicated and/or private communicationslink, or include some combination of public and private links. In analternative embodiment, the content server 110 is located in the mobilenetwork support system 120. Accordingly, the network 101 may be a localarea network. In one embodiment, the mobile device user enters apre-established code into the mobile device in order to specify that amessage is intended for the content server 110. For example, the usercan enter a short string, such as “##” into the mobile device to signifythat forthcoming data contains a marker should be sent to the contentserver 11 0. In another embodiment, the user can dial a telephone numberto connect to the content server 110 and then provide the marker.

The content server 110 preferably receives the marker 141 and thecontext information, maps the context to a domain, determines thecontent associated with the marker 141 and the mapped domain, and theneither sends the content to the mobile device or performs some otheraction. In one embodiment, the content server 110 is adapted to receiveand respond to communications protocols such as HTTP over TCP/IP. Inanother embodiment, the content server 110 is an interactive voiceresponse (IVR) system adapted to receive and respond to communicationsreceived via standard telephony protocols.

FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram of a computer system 200 for use asthe content server 110 or another device illustrated in FIG. 1, such asthe context server 126. FIG. 2 illustrates at least one processor 202coupled to a bus 204. Also coupled to the bus 204 are a memory 206, astorage device 208, a keyboard 210, a graphics adapter 212, a pointingdevice 214, and a network adapter 216. A display 218 is coupled to thegraphics adapter 212.

At least one processor 202 may be any specific or general-purposeprocessor such as an INTEL x86 or POWERPC-compatible central processingunit (CPU). The storage device 208 may be any device capable of holdinglarge amounts of data, like a hard drive, compact disk read-only memory(CD-ROM), DVD, or some other form of fixed or removable storage device.The memory 206 holds instructions and data used by the processor 202.The pointing device 214 may be a mouse, track ball, light pen,touch-sensitive display, or other type of pointing device and is used incombination with the keyboard 210 to input data into the computer system200. The network adapter 216 couples the computer system 200 to thecomputer network 101.

Program modules 220 for providing the functionality attributed to thecontent (or other) server 110 are preferably stored on the storagedevice 208, loaded into the memory 206, and executed by the processor202. Alternatively, hardware or software modules may be stored elsewherewithin the computer system 200. As used herein, the term “module” refersto computer program logic and/or any hardware or circuitry utilized toprovide the functionality attributed to the modules. The types ofhardware and software within the computer system 200 may vary dependingupon how the computer system is utilized. For example, a computer systemused as a content server 110 is likely to have greater processing powerand storage capacity than a typical personal computer system. Inaddition, the content server 110 may lack certain components, such as adisplay 218 or graphics adapter.

Returning to FIG. 1, the content server 110 preferably includes a domainmapping module (DMM) 150 and is in communication with a content database111. The DMM 150 analyzes the context information and domain informationto determine a domain for the marker. In one embodiment, a domaindatabase 151 in communication with the DMM 150 holds domain informationdescribing the boundaries and/or conditions defining the domains. Inanother embodiment, the DMM 150 uses domain information received via adata feed 152 or from another source, in addition to or instead of theinformation in the domain database 151. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the context and the domain are the same. Moreover, themapping from context to domain can be contiguous or discontiguous.

The context and domain information can explicitly specify the domain forthe marker. For example, assume that the context information specifies ageographic location, such as the location of a cell served by a cellularbase station or a city, and the domain information specifies geographicboundaries for a variety of domains. In this case, the DMM 150 candetermine the domain directly from the context information by using thecontext (e.g., the geographic location) as a key to the domaininformation in the domain database 151, or through a similar technique.

The context and domain information can also implicitly specify thedomain for the marker. In this case, the DMM 150 preferably analyzes thecontext and domain information using business logic in order todetermine the proper domain for the marker. For example, in oneembodiment the context information specifies a geographic location, andthe domain information describes the geographic locations where themarkers are displayed. The business logic can specify that the DMM 150select the domain of the matching maker nearest to the locationspecified by the context information (e.g., if the received marker is“42,” the DMM 150 will select the domain of the marker “42” closest tothe location specified by the context information). In otherembodiments, the business logic can use other techniques to select animplicitly-specified domain.

In addition, the DMM 150 can use a mix of explicit and implicitinformation to determine the domain for the marker. Assume, for example,that the context information specifies a geographic location, a headingand a velocity. In addition, assume the domain information definesdifferent domains for each side of a road. The DMM 150 interprets thecontext information and determines that the mobile device 130 is on theroad and headed in a certain direction. In addition, the DMM 150 usesthe business logic and determines that the received marker is mostlikely in the domain facing the driver. Accordingly, the DMM 150 mapsthe marker 141 to that domain.

In yet another example, markers are located on advertisements on thesides of buses. The domains for the markers are specified relative tocertain buses or routes. For example, marker “42” is in a first domainfor bus routes 1-5 and a second domain for routes 6-10. In this example,the context information specifies a geographic location and/or a time.The domain information specifies a table of bus schedules and/or areal-time data feed describing the locations of buses. The DMM 150 usesthe context and domain information, in combination with business logic,to determine which bus bearing the marker was likely seen by the personsubmitting the marker. Then, the DMM 150 maps the marker to the domaincorresponding to the bus route of the given bus.

The content database 111 stores content associated with markers anddomains. In one embodiment, the database 111 stores content in atwo-dimensional array, with one dimension representing the marker 141and the other dimension representing the domain. Other storagetechniques are within the scope of the present invention, includingmulti-dimensional arrays, hash tables, etc. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, the content database 111 stores pointers toadditional content. For example, the content database 111 stores URLsreferencing other content available on the Internet. In another example,the content database 111 stores phone numbers of reservation services.In one embodiment, the content database 111 is implemented using anobject-oriented database such as Oracle 8i available from OracleCorporation.

In one embodiment, the content database 111 is stored on the storagedevice 208 in the content server 110. In another embodiment, the contentdatabase 111 is stored on a separate storage device associated with aseparate database server or a dedicated storage system. Accordingly, thecontent database 111 may be co-located or remote from the content server110 and may be coupled to the content server with a local or wide areanetwork (not shown).

Preferably, the content server 110 accesses the content database 111 toretrieve the content identified by the given marker 141 and domain. Uponretrieving the content from the content database 111, the content server110 preferably provides the content to the mobile device 130 via thenetwork 101 and mobile network support system 120 and/or performsanother action with the content. For example, if the content database111 holds a restaurant menu, the content server 110 may provide the menuto the mobile device 130 or email the menu to an address associated withthe mobile device. Alternatively, if the content database 111 holds aphone number for the restaurant, the content server 110 may cause themobile device 130 to form a telephone connection with the restaurant. Ifthe content server 110 contains an IVR system, the content server mayprompt the user to provide additional information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary situation in which amobile device user uses an embodiment of the present invention to obtaina desired content. FIG. 4 is a ladder diagram illustratingcommunications between the various entities illustrated in FIG. 1 inresponse to the situation of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 illustrates only majorcommunications and those of ordinary skill in the art will recognizethat different embodiments of the present invention may use differentsets of communications.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary situation where a mobile device usersees a billboard 320 while driving on a road. The billboard 320 refersto a nearby restaurant, Smokey Joe's. As typically happens, before themobile device user can read and memorize the direction to therestaurant, or the web address or phone number of the restaurant, whichmay also be posted on the billboard, the user's car has passed thebillboard. However, in this case, the billboard also displays a marker141 associated with the restaurant. The marker 141 in this example is atwo-digit number “42,” and it is not hard for the mobile device user toread and memorize this number while driving by the billboard 320. Themobile device user enters this two digit number into the mobile device130, perhaps by entering “##42” into the device, and, in response,obtains content about Smokey Joe's, such as the direction to SmokeyJoe's from the mobile user's location, Smokey Joe's menu, etc.

Turning now to FIG. 4, the signal from the mobile device 130 containingthe marker is transmitted 420 to the mobile base station 122, which thenforwards 430 the data in the signal to the context server 126. Thecontext server 126 determines the context information and returns 431 itto the gateway 124. In this example, the contextual information is thelocation of the mobile device. The context server 126 can determine thecontext information by, for example, querying the user or receiving GPSinformation from the mobile device 130. The gateway 124 forms a messageincluding Smokey Joe's marker 141 and the location of the mobile device130, and sends 440 a message to the content server 110 via the network101. When the network 101 is the Internet, the gateway 124 preferablyconverts the message from the mobile network protocol, such as the WAPor i-Mode protocol, to an Internet protocol, such as HTTP via TCP/IP. Inone embodiment, the message sent to the content server 110 is in theform of a URL, such as “http://contentserver.com/context/42,” where“contentserver” corresponds to the name of the content server 110 and“context” corresponds to the location of the mobile device 130.

In response to receiving the message, the content server 110 uses thecontext information and domain information to map the marker 141 to adomain and then queries 450 the content database 111 for the contentcorresponding to the marker in the mapped domain. In response to thequery, the content database 111 returns 451 the desired content to thecontent server 11 0. Alternatively, the content database 111 may returna URL pointing to a location on the Internet that the mobile device 130can access to retrieve this content.

The content server 110 sends 460 the retrieved content to the basestation 122, which converts the content into a wireless signal andtransmits 470 the signal to the mobile device 130. The mobile devicethen outputs the content to the mobile device user.

Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will nowbecome apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodimentsincorporating its concepts may be provided. It is felt therefore, thatthis invention should not be limited to the disclosed invention, butshould be limited only by the sprit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for providing content to a mobile device, comprising:receiving from the mobile device data representative of a marker;receiving from the mobile device data representative of a context forthe marker; analyzing the data representative of the context for themarker to determine a domain for the marker; determining contentresponsive to the marker and the domain for the marker, wherein themarker maps to specific content for the domain; and providing thedetermined content to the mobile device.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein receiving data representative of a context for the markercomprises: providing the mobile device with a prompt for data describingthe context; receiving data describing the context generated by a userof the mobile device responsive to the prompt; and generating the datarepresentative of the context for the marker responsive to the datadescribing the context.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the promptprovides a menu of possible selections and wherein the data describingthe context is a selection made from the menu.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein the prompt comprises an open-ended query and wherein the datadescribing the context comprises an utterance spoken, or at least onekeypress entered, by the user of the mobile device responsive to theprompt.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving data representativeof a context for the marker comprises: receiving data generated by auser of the mobile device responsive to an audible and/or visual prompt.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining contentresponsive to the marker and the domain for the marker comprises thestep of: accessing a content database holding content associated with aplurality of markers for a plurality of domains, wherein the databaseincludes mappings describing specific content associated with specificmarkers for specific domains.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theanalyzing step comprises: establishing data representative of domaininformation describing possible domains for the marker; establishingbusiness logic describing relationships among the data representative ofthe context for the marker and the data representative of domaininformation; analyzing the business logic, the data representative ofthe context for the marker, and the data representative of domaininformation to determine the domain for the marker.
 8. A system forproviding content to a mobile device, comprising: a content databasestoring content for a plurality of markers, the content associated withone or more of a plurality of domains, and storing mappings describingspecific content associated with specific markers for specific domains;and a content server for receiving from the mobile device datarepresentative of a marker and data representative of a context for themarker, for analyzing the data representative of the context for themarker to determine a domain for the marker, for accessing the contentdatabase to determine content associated with the marker and the domain,and for sending the determined content to the mobile device.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, further comprising: a context server for providingthe mobile device with a prompt for data describing the context,receiving data describing the context generated by a user of the mobiledevice responsive to the prompt, and generating the data representativeof the context for the marker responsive to the data describing thecontext.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the prompt provides a menuof possible selections and wherein the data describing the context is aselection made from the menu.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein theprompt comprises an open-ended query and wherein the data describing thecontext comprises an utterance spoken, or at least one keypress entered,by the user of the mobile device responsive to the prompt.
 12. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the data representative of a context for themarker comprises data generated by a user of the mobile deviceresponsive to an audible and/or visual prompt.
 13. The system of claim8, wherein the content server comprises: a domain database holdingdomain information describing possible domains for the marker; and adomain mapping module in communication with the domain database andadapted to analyze business logic establishing relationships among thedata representative of the context for the marker and the domaininformation to determine the domain for the marker.
 14. A computerprogram product, comprising: a computer-usable medium havingcomputer-readable code embodied therein for providing content to amobile device, the computer-readable code comprising: a module forreceiving from the mobile device data representative of a marker anddata representative of a context for the marker; and a domain mappingmodule for analyzing the data representative of the context for themarker to determine a domain for the marker and for accessing a contentdatabase to determine content associated with the marker and the domain,wherein the marker maps to specific content for the domain; and a modulefor providing the determined content to the mobile device.
 15. Thecomputer program product of claim 14, further comprising: a module forproviding the mobile device with a prompt for data describing thecontext, receiving data describing the context generated by a user ofthe mobile device responsive to the prompt, and generating the datarepresentative of the context for the marker responsive to the datadescribing the context.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15,wherein the prompt provides a menu of possible selections and whereinthe data describing the context is a selection made from the menu. 17.The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the prompt comprisesan open-ended query and wherein the data describing the contextcomprises an utterance spoken, or at least one keypress entered, by theuser of the mobile device responsive to the prompt.
 18. The computerprogram product of claim 14, wherein the data representative of acontext for the marker comprises data generated by a user of the mobiledevice responsive to an audible and/or visual prompt.